by Linda Verji
Benisio and Jackson had also stopped when they saw Carter, but they started to move down again. Her legs feeling mushy, Eve followed them down. And Carter just watched them. His gaze swept away from Eve down to the bags that the three of them were carrying then back to her. Slowly his shock dissipated and was replaced by deep disappointment. In that moment, she knew that he’d already heard about what she’d done.
By the time the three of them got to the bottom of the stairs, the disappointment was laced with fury.
“We need to talk,” he said tightly. The words were obviously for her. Benisio immediately moved in front of her as if to block Carter from coming at her.
I have nothing to say to you, she wanted to say. But that was the coward’s way out. Besides, Jackson was here. She couldn’t let him watch while she and Carter traded words. She swallowed to ease her racing pulse before saying, “Let’s talk in the dining room.”
Both Benisio and Jackson turned to her with concerned looks.
“It’s okay,” she reassured them with a forced smile. She handed Benisio the duffel bag. “Put this in the car. I’ll be right out.”
Without waiting for a response, she swept past them and headed to the dining room. Though she didn’t turn to confirm it, she heard Carter’s footsteps follow her.
The dining room was a little room off the secondary living room and connected to the kitchen. Fortunately, it had doors on both sides thus offering privacy. As soon as they were in the room, Carter closed the door connecting to the living room while she went for the one connecting to the dining room. Then they faced each other.
For a while they just stared at each other, neither saying anything. But those stares conveyed more than a loud screaming match would’ve ever managed to say. Carter was disappointed in her, and furious. He was waiting for her explanation. But she had none to give him.
He broke the tense silence. “Tell me that it’s not true.”
She couldn’t do that.
“Tell me that you didn’t betray my mother.”
She couldn’t do that either so she just stared at him.
The rage in his eyes flared then dissipated to be replaced by sadness. His voice was almost a whisper when he asked, “Why?”
Frankly, Eve ached to expose Sharon not just to Carter but to the authorities too so she could be done with all this. However, she had secrets of her own that she couldn’t afford to have spilled. Kicking Sharon out of La Belle was the only solution that would protect her family but still cut off Sharon’s legs.
“My mom has been so good to you,” Carter cut into her thoughts. “Why would you do this to her?”
Eve answered him with silence.
“Did Wick force you to do this?” Desperation dripped from his voice as he asked, “Did he make you betray her?”
This time she answered, “No.”
“Then what?” he asked. When she didn’t respond, he breathed, “Eve, I thought you loved-” His voice broke, and he had to pause for a second. Rubbing his chest as if his heart was in pain, he said, “I thought you loved me.”
I do. Seeing him so devastated broke her heart, and she wanted to race across the room and embrace him. But she didn’t. Her hands curled into fists beside her body, she stayed planted in her spot.
“Say something, Eve. Give me a reason why you did this.” He took a step towards her. “Please, Eve.”
Forcing herself to sound cold, she said, “I just wanted to.”
“You just wanted to?” Fresh rage flashed in his eyes but the sadness and disappointment still lingered. “What kind of reason is that?”
It was a stupid reason, but she couldn’t give him her real reason. Carter was Eve’s biggest trump card against Sharon. Sharon had spent so many years hiding her sins from him that the threat of him knowing her secrets gave her nightmares. Eve was counting on that fear to at least have some control over Sharon’s future actions. As long as the threat of Carter being told everything was dangling over her head, Sharon was controllable. The less Carter knew, the more power Eve had over his mother.
Her voice low, Eve said, “I know it’s hard to understand but this is just the way things are.”
“This is just the way things are?” He released a bark of laughter that sounded more sad than happy. “That’s your explanation?”
“I’m sorry, Carter.” She dragged in a shaky breath. “This is just something I had to do. It had nothing do with you.”
“What do you mean it had nothing to do with me?” His voice rising, he gave her an incredulous look. “She’s my mother.”
“I know,” Eve said quietly. “But this is between just me and her.” She paused, “Carter, I have to go. I’m sorry for everything.”
Without waiting for his response to her apology, she turned and grabbed the doorknob. Carter moved so fast that she didn’t even see him coming. One second he was a few feet away and the next he’d closed the distance between them. Before she could even open the door, he spun her around to face him.
“Not yet.” His hands on her waist, he pleaded, “I need an explanation, Eve. Please”
“There is no explanation, Carter.” Though his closeness and touch was disconcerting and her heart was thumping loudly, she forced herself to sound calm as she said, “I did it because I wanted to.”
“No. No.” He shook his head and repeated, “No, you’re not that type of person.”
“I am that type of person.”
His fingers digging into her waist, Carter watched her for an uncomfortably long moment before saying, “So it’s true what my mom said? That Wick paid you to do this?”
So that was the story Sharon had decided to go with to protect herself? Eve held back a guffaw.
Obviously, she didn’t do a good job of hiding her disdain for Sharon because Carter frowned. “Did you just smile? Is that funny to you?”
Eve immediately schooled her features into a more grave expression. “Look, Carter-” She grabbed his wrists and pushed his hands away from her waist. “-I wish I could explain but I can’t. You can hate me if you want to. I won’t blame you.”
“How generous of you!” he bit out with blatant sarcasm.
It hurt to hear that sarcasm. Despite everything they’d been through these five years, he’d never used that tone with her. But she couldn’t blame him. She deserved it.
As she slipped past him and walked towards the other door, she offered another, “I’m sorry, Carter.”
CHAPTER 14
Despite his disappointment and anger with Eve, Carter wasn’t a fool. He did not believe even for a second that Eve had done this just because she wanted to. This was not her. There had to be reason for her betrayal.
Memories of their last intimate encounter kept haunting him. Eve had been genuinely apologetic, like someone who felt awful for what she was about to do. Someone who truly wanted to destroy another would never be that apologetic. Also if she was in it for the money as his mother had said, she would’ve requested a property split in her divorce papers. But she hadn’t. All she wanted was an amicable split.
Carter had of course torn apart those divorce papers as soon as he was done reading them, but they had heightened his conviction that something more was going on. And he suspected that it had something to do with Lewis Wick. Obviously, Eve wasn’t going to explain herself, but Carter knew someone else who could help him untangle this web. So he called him and arranged a meeting.
Seven p.m. the same evening found Carter seated at the counter at his favorite sports bar, nursing a glass of vodka as he waited for his guest. He didn’t have to wait long. At around seven-fifteen, Benisio slid into the seat next to him.
“You’re here,” Carter greeted coldly. Any other time, he would’ve been warmer to the man but as soon as he’d seen Benisio carrying Eve’s luggage, he’d realized that Benisio had betrayed his mother too.
“I’m here,” Benisio acknowledged with a curt nod.
“I didn’t think you’d come,” Carter sai
d as he stared down into his drink.
“I didn’t want to.” Benisio gestured for the bartender to come over.
“Then why did you come?”
The older man didn’t respond. Instead, he waited for the bartender to stop by then ordered his drink. The bartender poured out a glass of bourbon on the rocks for Benisio and topped up Carter’s vodka before moving on to serve another patron.
Carter repeated, “Why did you come?”
“Because I know you.” Benisio took a sip of his drink. He winced slightly at the strong, bitter taste before adding, “You would’ve kept hounding me.”
“You’re right… you know me.” Carter turned his head to meet the other man’s eyes. “Just like I thought I knew you.”
Benisio didn’t say anything to that. He just took another sip of his drink.
Carter had many questions for the man. Top on the list was; where is Eve? Benisio had driven Eve away from the house so he must know where she was. But something told Carter that the man wouldn’t tell him even if he dropped to his knees and licked his boots. So he settled on, “How many years have we known each other Benisio?”
Benisio shrugged. “Twenty or so years.”
“As long as you’ve worked for my mother, right?”
Benisio nodded. “Right!”
Running his finger along the rim of his glass, Carter asked, “Long enough to have become friends?”
Benisio didn’t say anything.
Carter prodded, “We are… we were friends, right?”
The older man only shrugged, but that shrug was answer enough.
“I guess it was all in my head.” Carter chuckled, but the sound was filled with bitterness rather than amusement. “That’s why it was so easy for you to betray my mother and me.”
Benisio didn’t say anything, not even an ‘I’m sorry’. His expression stony, he picked up his glass and took another sip of his bourbon. The rage that flooded Carter at the sight of the other man drinking so calmly almost pushed him to grab the man’s glass and toss it at the wall. He wanted to grab the man’s collar and shake some emotion out of him. The self-control that it took not to do any of those things was almost Herculean, and Carter had to drag in a deep breath to calm his wild emotions.
Through gritted teeth, he asked, “Why did you do it?”
Benisio met his eyes. “I had my reasons.”
“What reasons?” Carter bit out.
“Many reasons,” Benisio returned cryptically which was worse than if he’d just remained silent.
Reigning in his fury, Carter demanded, “Are they the same reasons as Eves?”
“Yes and No.” Another cryptic answer.
It took everything in Carter to keep from lunging at the man and planting a fist in his mouth. “Yes and No,” he mimicked sarcastically. “Is that what Eve told you to say?”
For the first time since he’d sat down, emotion flared in Benisio’s eyes. It almost sounded like he was protecting Eve as he said, “No, Eve didn’t tell me to say anything.” Before Carter could respond to that, he added, “Don’t blame Eve for any of this. Your mother brought it all on herself.’
Carter frowned. “What does that mean?”
“It means…” The coldness was back in Benisio’s eyes. “… that there are many things you don’t know about your mother.”
That response left Carter only more confused. “What things don’t I know? Explain it to me so I can understand.”
“I wish I could, but I can’t. But just know this… Eve is the victim here. Not your mother.” His jaw set and his voice firm, Benisio added, “Your mother just got what was coming to her.”
Benisio’s words and the thread of restrained anger in his tone sent a jolt of unease through Carter. Obviously, the man felt no remorse for what he and Eve had done. In fact, he believed that Sharon deserved it. But that couldn’t be true. Sharon had been good to both of them. She’d been like a second mother to Eve and had treated Benisio like he was part of their family. How could she deserve this? What had she done to them to make them this way? Carter racked his brain for any instance where she might’ve wronged either Benisio or Eve but couldn’t think of any.
He needed more answers. However, before he could get them, Benisio slipped off the stool and stood. “I have to go.”
“I still have questions,” Carter protested. “I’m not done.”
“But I am.” Benisio took his glass and tossed back the rest of his drink. He set the empty glass on the counter. “I only came here out of courtesy, not because I have any answers to give you. If you want the truth, you’ll have to find it for yourself.”
“Find it from where?”
“I don’t know.” Benisio turned as if to leave but then paused. He swiveled around to meet Carter’s eyes again. “For once in your life, open your eyes and look past your love for your mother. See what’s really going on around you. Ask yourself why everyone would just turn on her like this. Sharon isn’t everything that she claims to be.”
With that Benisio strode away, leaving Carter more confused than before he’d spoken to the man. Along with that confusion came an unsettled feeling. Had his mother done something to them? No, of course not, he denied. However, Benisio’s advice still echoed in his mind. Ask yourself why everyone would just turn on her like this.
* * * * *
EVE WOKE UP the next morning with a blinding headache and to the shrill ringing of her phone. Yesterday evening had been hectic. She’d spent hours cleaning the mess that Sharon was making.
Apparently, Eve’s word and the presence of the videos hadn’t been enough to make Sharon slink away quietly. She’d gone around calling everyone on the Board and demanding that they change their vote. Eve didn’t even know why the woman was wasting her time bullying everyone. As long as Wick held the majority, Sharon had no leg to stand on. Still, her threatening calls had sent the other members of the Board into a panic. Eve had spent hours on the phone reassuring them that Sharon couldn’t drag them all down with her.
When she'd finally gone to bed, loneliness ruined her sleep. She hadn't even realized how much she'd gotten used to sleeping beside Carter. She missed his warmth. She missed the sound of his deep breaths. She missed his smell. She missed having his arms around her. She missed him with a painful intensity that left her consumed with thoughts of him.
Was he having trouble sleeping too? Did he hate her as much as she thought he did? Was he hurting like she was? All these questions made real rest impossible. She tossed and turned while floating in between short bursts of restless sleep. By the time dawn crept in, she was still tired and it felt like a rock-band was having practice in her brain.
Ring. Ring. Ring. The phone called for her to pick it up. Ring. Ring. Ring.
With a groan, she turned to her side then reached towards the nightstand. Her fingers tapped the wood several times before finally bumping into the phone. Opening one eye, she checked the screen. When she saw who it was, she swiped on the answer icon.
“Nina?” she greeted, her voice still hoarse with sleep. “Hi.”
“Hi. I just saw your message.” Though it was six in the morning, Nina sounded chirpy, like she’d been awake for several hours. “Are you sure you want me to put up the video?”
“Yeah, it’s time to show Sharon that we’re not playing games-” Eve’s voice hitched as she turned onto her back. “Just make sure you blur out her face and the director’s face. And don’t caption it with any names. Let people guess for themselves.”
“What time do you want me to upload the video?”
“Um… around nine, but I’ll text you to confirm it.” Eve smiled. “I want to watch her face when she sees it.”
“Take a picture for me,” Nina said before she ended the call.
Eve wanted to sleep for a few more minutes but her phone kept ringing, forcing her to start her day earlier than she planned. After taking painkillers to numb her headache, she jumped into the shower. Her new bathroom was much sm
aller than the one she and Carter had shared and didn’t even have a tub. The rest of the one-bedroom condo was just as small.
Though she could afford something bigger, she didn’t want to mess with her savings until this whole thing with Sharon was over. Though she was reasonably sure that things would go as planned, Eve was cautious and meticulous to a fault. She’d even planned for failure. If something went wrong with the plan, she’d use her savings to get back on her feet. Hopefully, that wouldn’t happen. But if it did, she was ready.
As she was dressing for work, her phone rang again. This time it was her assistant, Mona.
“Good morning, Mona.”
“Morning, Eve.” Mona sounded panicked as she said, “I just got into work and headed to the CEO’s office to set up my desk and your desk like you told me to. But when I got there, Mrs. Welling was in her office.”
“Really?” Eve snorted. “I’m not even surprised.”
It was just seven-thirty a.m.. Sharon must have spent the whole night awake just so that she could race to La Belle and claim the office as hers.
Mona continued, “When she saw me, she told me that I was fired then called security on me.”
Eve’s voice rose in surprise. “What?”
“I’m not fired, am I?”
“Of course not.” Anger already coiling through her, Eve ordered, “Just stay down at the reception. When I come in, we can go up together.”
Mona exhaled in relief. “Okay.”
Once the call ended, Eve took a deep breath to cool her anger. There was something wrong with Sharon. How could she be so brazen in the face of all that evidence? It was almost like she wanted to be dragged out of La Belle by her hair. Well… Eve had no qualms about obliging her. She grabbed her purse and headed out of the door.
Eve wasn’t surprised to see Benisio waiting beside her car. Yesterday, he’d made it clear that he’d stick to her like glue until things calmed down. Apparently, Sharon was very capable of causing Eve bodily harm, and he didn’t want that to happen.
Benisio drove her to work then followed her into the company. As instructed, Mona was waiting at the reception. She scrambled to meet Eve when she walked in. The other employees seemed to know that things were about to get dicey because they stepped out of the way as Eve marched determinedly to the elevators with Benisio and Mona at her heels.
